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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Josh Halliday North of England editor

Labour plans review of carer’s allowance after thousands forced to repay

Alison McGovern, pictured in a pink shirt with sunglasses hooked over the top, talking to a woman at an employability centre,
McGovern, the acting shadow work and pensions secretary, said pressure should be put on ministers over the DWP’s failure to stop the overpayments. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Labour will review the system of carer’s allowance if it wins the general election, the party has confirmed, after the Guardian revealed that scores of unpaid carers were being forced to pay back thousands of pounds for minor breaches of benefit rules.

Thousands of carers have run up huge debts, been given criminal records and been forced to sell their homes when chased by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over “honest mistakes” that officials could have spotted years earlier.

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